Monday, March 26, 2012

Athens, OH: Couple dead in apparent murder-suicide

An Alderman Road man and his wife are dead from an apparent murder-suicide, which the husband called in to report shortly before killing himself, according to a news release from the Athens County Sheriff's Office.

The couple, who had recently moved to Athens County from Chillicothe, had been served with an eviction notice by deputies last month and then ordered to vacate the residence on Sunday, the sheriff said.

Robert T. Nusser, 68, called 9-1-1 just before 9 a.m. to report a "murder-suicide," adding, "I'm the one that caused it."

Officers who responded found Nusser and his wife, 64-year-old Paulette Nusser, dead from a single gunshot wound each. Robert Nusser was found in a living room chair, and his wife was in bed, according to a release.

Neighbor Nikki Miller, 31, said she heard the officers arrive, and heard them for about a half-hour urging those inside the house to give themselves up.

"They kept hollering for the guy to come out with his hands up," Miller recalled. "For about a half-hour they did that."

Before learning about the double death from a reporter, she said, "I thought everything was OK, because everybody (had) left."

Miller said she knew the Nussers slightly, and that her son had done some work for them, shoveling their driveway. She said she suspected Robert Nusser may have had some emotional problems, because "he went off on my son" on one occasion, when her son went to the Nusser home to ask about a lawnmower. However, she added, the couple "seemed friendly enough."

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